In my opinion Valentine's Day is about spending time with people who you love and doing things you love. So if that includes going to a prog metal with your brother then that's the best way to celebrate.
For a music fan like me it's been interesting to see the evolution of the genre that was called Djent when it came out. I suppose like how much predecessors watched grunge or nu metal take over the world, the way Djent has done the same is not as overt, it's almost prog by stealth.
You like Sleep Token? You're a prog fan. You like Spiritbox? You're a prog fan. Sorry to break it to you. No band has ridden the wave better than TesseracT (10), they were one of the 'originators' of the genre and have been reinventing it since, most recently it's been all about the staging, Dan Tompkins adopting face paint, theatrics and a sense of collectivism that has come from their last two records but mainly with their newest studio album War Of Being.
Now I've seen them three times on this tour and each time they bring something new, crafting a setlist that stays true to their Djent beginnings but also leans on their recent material that has seen their fanbase swell with lots of fresh blood, in particular lots of women and girls. A section of the fanbase that prog music hasn't really catered for until recently with many alternative pop, rock, metal(core) bands constructing their songs with breakdowns, chunky palm muted riffs and soaring choruses.
It's almost like prog, by way of Djent has become the mainstream in the metal world, the popular style to listen to, you know the songs that played one Radio 1. I don't mean this to sound cynical by the way, I'm not being cynical or facetious about it in any way. I've always loved progressive music and if one person moves from the fandom of TesseracT into the likes of Steven Wilson, then from there into Pink Floyd etc I'll always support it.
I'm personally always struck by how much Dan is like a modern version of Peter Gabriel crossed with Dave Gahan and on this past tour he's turned into a proper 'frontman' more than just the brilliant voice of Tesseract. It’s the old guard embracing the new. Theatrical like Sleep Token, but with the same modern prog metal they helped put on the map.
A shorter set than their triumphant headliner at Radar last year, it was odd seeing the same staging in a smaller venue but it was still as impactful, Jay Postones, imposing and imperious on his drum riser while the hooded Amos Williams is in constant motion, throwing around his bass as he kicks out the heavy grooves. James Monteith moves a lot less, content with cranking out the down picked rhythm riffs, though he does venture to the front of stage to encourage participation such as clap-alongs or pits. Acle Kahney at the furthest right of stage just focusses his attention on his instrument, be it co-riffing or the lead guitar flourishes that add melodies and beauty to the mechanical chug.
The set was basically drawn from War Of Being and its predecessor Sonder, but give the youthful audience what they want right? There was Natural Disaster, Echoes, Sacrifice, War Of Being, Tender, Juno, King and for the oldies like me, Of Mind – Nocturne and Concealing Fate Part 1: Acceptance, but nothing stuck out, that’s the magic of Tesseract, they’ve managed to evolve organically without sacrificing much of what initially brought people to them. Music has changed so the bands don’t have too.
This was seen too in the choice of support as Novelists (8) formed in 2013, two years after Tesseract’s debut album One, so they of course would have drawn inspiration from them for their progressive metalcore. The French band have had a bit of turmoil with vocalists but from what I saw in Cardiff, Camille Contreras is a great fit, juggling the older material, sung by Matteo Gelsomino (2013–2020) and Tobias Rische (2020–2023), well and defining her place with some of their new stuff. She’s got a great voice adding a little bit of pop punk to the anthemic metalcore cleans and screams. They also have a shit hot guitar player who adds Pink Floyd-like solos to the djenty riffs.
The French band know how to command a stage and brought a bit of energy to the room after the weirdness of openers The Omnific (6), an Australian trio with two bassists and a drummer that often leaves his drum stool to throw some shapes to EDM. I can’t fault the virtuosity but it was very strange to watch.
Still it’s all part of the ever evolving nature of what started out as the Djent scene, it’s in the name this is progressive music and we got three great examples of why it’s so eclectic and now so popular right here at the Tramshed.
For a music fan like me it's been interesting to see the evolution of the genre that was called Djent when it came out. I suppose like how much predecessors watched grunge or nu metal take over the world, the way Djent has done the same is not as overt, it's almost prog by stealth.
You like Sleep Token? You're a prog fan. You like Spiritbox? You're a prog fan. Sorry to break it to you. No band has ridden the wave better than TesseracT (10), they were one of the 'originators' of the genre and have been reinventing it since, most recently it's been all about the staging, Dan Tompkins adopting face paint, theatrics and a sense of collectivism that has come from their last two records but mainly with their newest studio album War Of Being.
Now I've seen them three times on this tour and each time they bring something new, crafting a setlist that stays true to their Djent beginnings but also leans on their recent material that has seen their fanbase swell with lots of fresh blood, in particular lots of women and girls. A section of the fanbase that prog music hasn't really catered for until recently with many alternative pop, rock, metal(core) bands constructing their songs with breakdowns, chunky palm muted riffs and soaring choruses.
It's almost like prog, by way of Djent has become the mainstream in the metal world, the popular style to listen to, you know the songs that played one Radio 1. I don't mean this to sound cynical by the way, I'm not being cynical or facetious about it in any way. I've always loved progressive music and if one person moves from the fandom of TesseracT into the likes of Steven Wilson, then from there into Pink Floyd etc I'll always support it.
I'm personally always struck by how much Dan is like a modern version of Peter Gabriel crossed with Dave Gahan and on this past tour he's turned into a proper 'frontman' more than just the brilliant voice of Tesseract. It’s the old guard embracing the new. Theatrical like Sleep Token, but with the same modern prog metal they helped put on the map.
A shorter set than their triumphant headliner at Radar last year, it was odd seeing the same staging in a smaller venue but it was still as impactful, Jay Postones, imposing and imperious on his drum riser while the hooded Amos Williams is in constant motion, throwing around his bass as he kicks out the heavy grooves. James Monteith moves a lot less, content with cranking out the down picked rhythm riffs, though he does venture to the front of stage to encourage participation such as clap-alongs or pits. Acle Kahney at the furthest right of stage just focusses his attention on his instrument, be it co-riffing or the lead guitar flourishes that add melodies and beauty to the mechanical chug.
The set was basically drawn from War Of Being and its predecessor Sonder, but give the youthful audience what they want right? There was Natural Disaster, Echoes, Sacrifice, War Of Being, Tender, Juno, King and for the oldies like me, Of Mind – Nocturne and Concealing Fate Part 1: Acceptance, but nothing stuck out, that’s the magic of Tesseract, they’ve managed to evolve organically without sacrificing much of what initially brought people to them. Music has changed so the bands don’t have too.
This was seen too in the choice of support as Novelists (8) formed in 2013, two years after Tesseract’s debut album One, so they of course would have drawn inspiration from them for their progressive metalcore. The French band have had a bit of turmoil with vocalists but from what I saw in Cardiff, Camille Contreras is a great fit, juggling the older material, sung by Matteo Gelsomino (2013–2020) and Tobias Rische (2020–2023), well and defining her place with some of their new stuff. She’s got a great voice adding a little bit of pop punk to the anthemic metalcore cleans and screams. They also have a shit hot guitar player who adds Pink Floyd-like solos to the djenty riffs.
The French band know how to command a stage and brought a bit of energy to the room after the weirdness of openers The Omnific (6), an Australian trio with two bassists and a drummer that often leaves his drum stool to throw some shapes to EDM. I can’t fault the virtuosity but it was very strange to watch.
Still it’s all part of the ever evolving nature of what started out as the Djent scene, it’s in the name this is progressive music and we got three great examples of why it’s so eclectic and now so popular right here at the Tramshed.
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